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HDF(1)									HDF(1)

NAME
       hdf - Hierarchical Data Format library

SYNOPSIS
       -lmfhdf -ldf -ljpeg -lz
       {HDFLIBDIR}/libmfhdf.a	  {HDFLIBDIR}/libdf.a	 {HDFLIBDIR}/libjpeg.a
       {HDFLIBDIR}/libz.a

DESCRIPTION
       HDF is a multi-object file format that facilitates the transfer of var‐
       ious  types  of scientific data between machines and operating systems.
       Machines currently supported  include  the  Cray,  HP,  Vax,  Sun,  IBM
       RS/6000, Silicon Graphics, Macintosh, and IBM PC computers.  HDF allows
       self-definitions of data content	 and  easy  extensibility  for	future
       enhancements or compatibility with other standard formats. HDF includes
       Fortran and C calling interfaces,and utilities to prepare raw image  of
       data  files  or for use with other NCSA software.  The HDF library con‐
       tains interfaces for storing and retrieving compressed or  uncompressed
       8-bit  and 24-bit raster images with palettes, n-Dimensional scientific
       datasets and binary tables. An interface is also included  that	allows
       arbitray grouping of other HDF objects.

   HDF Raster Images
       HDF  supports  the  storing of both 8-bit and 24-bit raster images.  As
       well as storing information about  the  dimensions  and	palette	 of  a
       raster  image, HDF supports raster image compression.  In previous ver‐
       sions of HDF, Run-length encoding and Imcomp compression were both sup‐
       ported.	With HDF> 3.3 JPEG compression is also available.

   HDF Scientific Data Sets
       Scientific  Data Sets (SDSs) are useful for storing n-Dimensional grid‐
       ded data.  The actual data in the dataset can be of any of  the	"stan‐
       dard" number types: 8, 16 and 32bit signed and unsigned integers and 32
       and 64bit floating point values.	 In  addition,	a  certain  amount  of
       meta-data can be stored with an SDS including:

	 o The coordinate system to use when interpreting or displaying the data.
	 o Scales to be used for each dimension.
	 o Labels for each dimension and the dataset as a whole.
	 o Units for each dimension and the data.
	 o The valid max and min values for the data.
	 o Calibration information for the data.
	 o Fill or missing value information.
	 o Ability of have more than one file open at a time.
	 o A more general framework for meta-data within the SDS data-model
	   (allowing 'name = value' styel meta-data).
	 o Support for an "unlimited dimension" in the SDS data-model, making
	   it possible to append planes to an array along one dimension.

   HDF Annotations
       Any  object  in	an  HDF	 file can have annotations associated with it.
       There are a number of types of annotations:

	 o Labels are assumed to be short strings giving the "name" of a
	   data object.
	 o Descriptions are longer text segments that are useful for giving
	   more indepth information about a data object
	 o File annotations are assumed to apply to all of the objects in a
	   single file.

   HDF Vset Interfaces
       The Vset module provides interfaces to two basic HDF  building  blocks.
       Vgroups	are  generic  grouping	elements  allowing a user to associate
       related objects within an HDF  file.   As  Vgroups  can	contain	 other
       Vgroups,	 it is possible to build a hierarchical file.  Vdatas are data
       structures made up of fields  and  records.   Data  is  organized  into
       'fields'	 within	 each  Vdata.	Each  field  is identified by a unique
       'fieldname'.  The type of each field may be any	of  the	 basic	number
       types  that  HDF	 supports.  Fields of different types may exist within
       the same Vdata.

       By combining Vdatas in Vgroups it is possible to represent higher level
       data  constructs:  mesh	data, multi-variate datasets, sparse matrices,
       finite-element data, spreadsheets,  splines,  non-Cartesian  coordinate
       data, etc.

   HDF > 3.3 and netCDF
       HDF  >  3.3 merges in the netCDF library produced by Unidata.  The full
       netCDF library is supported as is a  new	 "multi-file"  SDS  interface.
       Both of these interfaces can read old netCDF files and HDF files trans‐
       parently.

   EXAMPLES
       All HDF routines require the header "hdf.h" to be  included  in	the  C
       source  file.  If using the SDS routines the header "mfhdf.h" should be
       included instead in in the C source file. Fortran programs  should  use
       "dffunc.inc" and "hdf.inc".

       To compile a program that makes HDF calls on most Unix platforms.

	  HDFLIBDIR = /usr/local/lib/hdf
	  HDFINC    = /usr/local/include/hdf

	  (FORTRAN):
	  f77 myprog.f -I{HDFINC} -o myprog {HDFLIBDIR}/libmfhdf.a \
	  {HDFLIBDIR}/libdf.a  {HDFLIBDIR}/libjpeg.a {HDFLIBDIR}/libz.a

	  (C):
	  cc myprog.c -I{HDFINC} -o myprog {HDFLIBDIR}/libmfhdf.a \
	  {HDFLIBDIR}/libdf.a  {HDFLIBDIR}/libjpeg.a {HDFLIBDIR}/libz.a

DOCUMENTATION
       The HDF WWW page is located at http://hdf.ncsa.uiuc.edu/

       For the vast majority of users, the "Users Guide" documents and the
       "Reference" manuals should be sufficient.

       You may download the documentation via ftp on NCSA's anonymous ftp
       server. (ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu:/HDF). On anonymous ftp there the documenta‐
       tion is available in Postscript, PDF and MIF.

VENDOR
       NCSA Software Development Division
       Hierarchical Data Format Group
       152 Computing Applications Bldg.
       605 E. Springfield Ave.
       Champaign, IL 61820

VERSION
       4.1

LICENSE & SOURCE AVAILABILITY
       UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS (UI), NATIONAL CENTER FOR SUPERCOMPUTING APPLI‐
       CATIONS (NCSA), Software Distribution Policy for Public Domain Software

       NCSA HDF Version 4.1 source code and documentation are in the public
       domain, available without fee for education, research, non-commercial
       and commercial purposes.	 Users may distribute the binary or source
       code to third parties provided that this statement appears on all
       copies and that no charge is made for such copies.

       UI MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE SOFTWARE FOR
       ANY PURPOSE.  IT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WAR‐
       RANTY.  THE UI SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY THE USER
       OF THIS SOFTWARE.  The software may have been developed under agree‐
       ments between the UI and the Federal Government which entitle the Gov‐
       ernment to certain rights.

       We ask, but do not require that the following message be include in all
       derived works:

	 Portions developed at the National Center for Supercomputing
	 Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

       By copying this program, you, the user, agree to abide by the condi‐
       tions and understandings with respect to any software which is marked
       with a public domain notice.

       Acknowledgements: ----------------

       Portions of this software were developed by the Unidata Program at the
       University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, specifically the
       NETCDF distribution used.

       This product also includes software developed by the Independent JPEG
       Group, specifically the IJPEG library libjpeg.a.

       This product also includes software developed by Jean-loup Gailly and
       Mark Adler , specifically the ZLIB library libz.a.

       This product includes software developed by the University of Califor‐
       nia, Berkeley and its contributors.

CONTACT & HELP
       NCSA Software Deveopment Division
       Hierarchical Data Format Group
       email: hdfhelp@ncsa.uiuc.edu

FILES
       /usr/local/lib/hdf/{libmfhdf.a,libdf.a,libjpeg.a,libz.a}
				     hdf libraries
       /usr/local/bin		     Location of most hdf utilities
       /usr/local/include/hdf	     Location of include file hdf.h and others

SEE ALSO
       hdfls(1), hdfpack(1), hdfunpac(1), hdp(1)

NCSA HDF 4.1			   July 1996				HDF(1)
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